Smith and Chapman Counting Down to Rally of Scotland

colin smith Smith and Chapman Counting Down to Rally of Scotland

The Honda Civic Type-R Colin Smith and Craig Chapman will use. Photo courtesy of EuroRallye

In just under a week’s time Colin Smith and Craig Chapman will take on the IRC Rally of Scotland, the toughest event to date in the Grampian duo’s fledgling career.

The junior pairing will be the only all-Aberdeenshire crew to take on the final round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, which covers some two hundred miles of competitive action over three days. Colin and Craig will take to the forests around Perth and Stirling in a Honda Civic Type-R for the first time.

The youngsters are lining up on the same entry list as IRC champion-elect Kris Meeke, double British Rally Champion Guy Wilks and former World Rally Championship regular Alister McRae. With competitors travelling from as far afield as Australia, Estonia and Hungary to take part, Colin and Craig are set to sample a truly international rally in the full glare of the world’s motorsport media.

The Rally of Scotland will mark a number of firsts for Oldmeldrum driver Smith (22) and Westhill co-driver Chapman (25). It will be the first competitive outing for the crew in the EuroRallye-owned, Andrew Wood Motorsport-run Honda Civic, having swapped their usual Peugeot 205 for a much newer machine. The Rally of Scotland will be the first time the pair have contested a rally more than one day long. And the event will also see Colin and Craig driving the stages beforehand and making their own route notes for the first time.

Despite the pressure, the Scottish rallying regulars are raring to go. Following the publication of official entry lists earlier in the week, project engineer Colin and company director Craig are quietly confident of their chances as the world’s top drivers and navigators come to their back yard.

“I would like to thank all with regards to the help and guidance received, it has been awesome,” declares Smith. “All preparations seem to be in place and I cannot wait for the stages to begin. Now there is a little bit of pressure off us with regards to the organizing, we can now prepare mentally.”

“We now need to concentrate on our tactics and pacenotes before the event, and are planning to test the car this Sunday at Knockhill race circuit,” adds Chapman. “In addition to this we are testing the car in the forest on the morning of the first leg of the rally to get a feel for the car on gravel. We have been warned that the stages are going to be very slippy so it’s going to be a tough test.”

Keep up to date with Colin and Craig’s progress by following their blog at www.flat-oot-like-a-dukes-fit.co.uk or www.ecossechallenge.co.uk!